Glossary · Financial Aid
SAI
The Student Aid Index, a number calculated from the FAFSA that represents a family’s calculated ability to pay for college. Schools subtract the SAI from their Cost of Attendance to determine need-based aid eligibility. Replaced the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) starting with the 2024-2025 FAFSA.
What it means
SAI is a number, not a bill. It does not mean you will pay that amount. It is the starting point schools use to calculate need-based aid eligibility. A family with an SAI of $20,000 at a school with a $75,000 COA has $55,000 in demonstrated need. At a school with a $30,000 COA, the same family has $10,000 in demonstrated need.
The SAI can go negative, down to -$1,500, which was not possible under the old EFC formula. A negative SAI identifies the neediest families and can result in slightly higher Pell Grant eligibility. For most families, the SAI is a positive number ranging from $0 to well above any single school’s COA.
The formula considers adjusted gross income, untaxed income and benefits, assets (excluding retirement accounts and primary residence), family size, and number of family members in college (though the 2024 changes reduced the benefit of having multiple children enrolled simultaneously). The College Board’s CSS Profile uses a separate, more detailed formula that can produce a different number.
Worked example
A family of four with $110,000 AGI, $30,000 in savings, no business assets, and one child in college calculates an SAI of approximately $27,000. At Vanderbilt (COA $87,000), demonstrated need is $60,000. At Alabama in-state (COA $32,000), demonstrated need is $5,000. The SAI is the same at both schools. The demonstrated need, and therefore the potential need-based aid, varies by $55,000 per year.
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